


A Blue-Eyed Soul Singer

by DanyelN



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 11:43:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13123038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanyelN/pseuds/DanyelN
Summary: Jaime meets Brienne under unusual circumstances and feelings happen.





	A Blue-Eyed Soul Singer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ikkiM](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikkiM/gifts).



> This is my JBO Secret Santa Gift for the Incomparable Mikki. I know my little story doesn't do you justice but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. My inspiration words were Dames, Whiskey & Guns.

Brienne was proud of her father's decision, even if it was against the law. For generations, Tarth had been famous for the fine whiskey it distilled and custom-blended. The operations had employed nearly half the small island, until the morality laws had been passed and prohibition became the law of the land, halting production. Due to the export business, Lord Selwyn was allowed a few months to sell the existing stock overseas but could not allow his people to starve, and decided to open an exclusive speakeasy in one of the properties he owned in Kings Landing. Despite his status, Selwyn personally oversaw this venture, and Brienne helped where she could, such as the night their piano player and usual entertainment quit, Brienne grudgingly agreed to fill in. 

That night, Jaime Lannister strolled into the upscale speakeasy, appraising his surroundings. ‘This place will do nicely,’ he thought. Rumor had it that the booze was good, and unlike a more private club, there would be no chance of his father’s unwanted matchmaking. He seated himself at the polished bar and ordered a whiskey, neat and found himself humming against the tumbler’s rim. The quality was better than he’d expected, well-aged, nothing like the watered-down or, worse, fake spirits served in many of these fly-by-night establishments. He was a good quarter into his drink when Jaime noticed an alto voice had joined the quiet piano music that gave the room a calm atmosphere, and the music had stopped by the time he realized he’d been staring. 

‘By the Seven, it was a woman!’ Jaime thought, though it was not exceedingly clear from her size and dress, but her deep blue eyes were a shock to him in the dimly-lit room. She looked up at him startled, as though she’d forgotten she had an audience. He could not help the smile that crossed his lips.

Brienne flushed at the end of her song and the music that had carried her away. She hadn’t realized she’d begun singing until a smattering of applause had brought her back to reality. As Brienne looked out into the crowd, one handsome man had caught her gaze and held it, held her there until she looked away and rushed from the small stage. By the time Brienne returned to the bar, her father was beaming and offered a glass of water in passing. She drank gratefully. 

“Nice pipes,” a voice complimented.

Brienne coughed and set the near-empty glass down at the unfamiliar voice. In her flight from the stage, she hadn’t noticed how close she’d come to the strikingly handsome man. 

“Quite tall, too,” he said with an almost boyish smile. “My name’s Jaime,” he tried next, with an outstretched hand.

“Brienne,” she breathed, shaking it. 

When they touched, Jaime felt like electricity was flowing through his veins. Her speaking voice was husky from her singing and sent a shiver down his spine. He looked into Brienne’s eyes and knew, whatever it was, she could feel it, too. “Brienne,” he repeated, finding he liked the taste of her name as much as the whiskey. “Would you sit with me?”

Brienne looked to her father, who smiled and nodded his permission, and so they sat together. Each found something inexplicably warm and inviting about the other, and so they talked about everything and nothing. What seemed like only minutes became half the night, until Jaime gathered his hat and coat, said his goodnights, and promised himself to return soon. As he strolled down the block to his home, his smile fell; for all their talking, he knew next to nothing personal about Brienne, not even her last name. 

Over the next month, Jaime spent many evenings at the Evenstar Speakeasy to listen to Brienne play, or sing when she got carried away by the music, but enjoyed talking to her the most. Some nights he was almost excited, pushing the conversation as far as he could to get Brienne to speak more of herself. They shared many of the same interests, enjoyed several of the same pursuits, and Jaime thought that had he not met her as a singer in a speakeasy, he might assume she was as nobly born as he. The difference meant nothing to him, but as surely as he knew he was falling for the tall and awkward Brienne, Jaime knew it would to the great Tywin Lannister. Although Tywin had been after Jaime to marry for years, he doubted his father would be thrilled that his son had fallen for a singer – common dames were a sin more Tyrion’s speed than his own. 

One quiet night, Jaime sat nursing his whiskey as Brienne began to play. It was almost a full-house tonight, he noted, though most of the company was lacking in their manners. Jaime frowned as the piano hit a sour note, something easily missed by someone who hadn’t been religiously attending the speakeasy. His attention was diverted when someone roughly jostled his elbow, carelessly taking the empty seat beside him. Jaime thought he looked like a punk, with his pistol stuck menacingly in his waistband and a sour expression on his baby-face as he watched the stage. 

“Do you know her?” Jaime asked, wanting to draw that stormy attention, instead.

The other man turned his head, with a snort. “Who, the Beauty?”

Jaime raised an eyebrow in question and the other man resumed glaring at Brienne, even as he spoke. “That ugly dame’s the owner’s daughter, thinks she’s too good for anyone, not that we’re actually interested.” 

The longer Jaime listened, the tighter his fist clenched. The past couple nights, he’d arrived to see several young, “tough” guys circling around Brienne, though they usually dispersed when Jaime walked their way. 

“Some of the fellas have a bet going to see who can bed her first, teach her a lesson.”

Without thinking, Jaime landed a right-hook into the face of his unwanted companion, who clung to the top of the bar before falling to the floor below from the impact. 

“If you so much as look at her again, there will be no hiding from me,” Jaime snarled at the stunned man, who scuttled away. 

The place had gone eerily quiet, prompting a few other punks, unloaded guns tucked safely away, to scurry out the door. Brienne had stopped playing when Jaime had thrown his punch, too unsettled to sing before the ruckus had begun. She could only stare as Jaime chuckled in the silence and bowed apologetically to the crowd. 

“My apologies, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “please go on with your evening.”

Jaime was afraid that his show of violence, if even to protect Brienne’s honor, might put her off. Though it was part of her charm, Brienne was shyer than a performer should be, and Jaime hoped that he hadn’t undone any of the careful steps he’d taken to earn her trust. But when he confronted her that evening, she drew him close in an unexpected embrace and allowed a chaste kiss. 

The occasional chaste kiss quickly became Jaime’s favorite part of his evenings. They were sweeter than the satisfaction that those punks never returned. Sitting at his desk, Jaime was thinking about their last kiss when he received a summons to his father’s office. Still pondering his blue-eyed lady, he knocked once and followed the secretary’s nod do enter. His father greeted him in a manner much more chipper than his usual demeanor and offered Jaime a seat, setting him on edge. 

“You have been spending a great deal of time at this Evenstar establishment, entertaining a particular lady.” Tywin waited for a response, though it hadn’t been a question. “If you insist on seeing this woman, I need to meet her. You will bring her to dinner this Thursday evening; I will see you then,” he finished dismissively. 

Jaime stumbled from Tywin’s office, stunned. He questioned how his father knew about his whereabouts and cursed that he had expected anything less. He was certain that Tywin would frighten Brienne to ensure the misery of his heir, and she would never speak to him again. The rest of the afternoon passed slowly as Jaime wondered how to broach the topic with Brienne. Would she agree to meet his father? Did he really want them to meet? Worst of all, what would Tywin Lannister do, if his agenda was deferred? 

That night, he cursed to himself and thought he should have known that Brienne would never back away from a challenge; it was one of the things he loved about her. Instead, Brienne had asked Jaime if he really wanted her to meet his father, and his heart ached at her sweet innocence. Various men had treated her unkindly in the past, he knew, and Jaime decided to show Brienne his every affection in the presence of Tywin Lannister. 

Thursday evening, Jaime arrived to pick-up Brienne and was surprised to find her in an elegant gown. His slow, appreciative whistle caused her to blush and say that she assumed that Lannisters dressed for dinner. Jaime withheld his questions, even as they arrived at Tywin’s stately townhome. By that time, he was again in awe of Brienne’s near-perfect manners and noted she had been raised well, even if she wasn’t forced to practice such courtesies in her every-day life. 

Tywin wasted little time in asking Brienne about her family and education, topics she and Jaime hadn’t really delved into. Even so, Jaime wasn’t listening intently to the conversation and so his attention was drawn by his father’s smile, as he began to nod at Brienne. Tywin turned his shark-like smile to his son and, to Jaime’s terror, it widened. “Jaime, my boy, why didn’t you just tell me that your Breinne was the Evenstar Heiress?” His visage turned something more human upon turning back to Brienne. “I apologize for the scrutiny, my dear. One can never be too careful about the people with whom we associate. 

Jaime sipped his wine gratefully, for if Brienne was offended, she hid it well. He was overwhelmed that Brienne was an heiress, large enough to be recognized, and a bit embarrassed that he had not realized. He knew about the Evenstar Distilleries and that their holdings were vast despite the shuttering of some plants due to prohibition. As Jaime thought back, he could see the truth of the matter: how well-spoken and well-read Brienne was; how her clothes, even if plain, were well-made and tailored to her unusual and alluring size. He had even learned her last name was Tarth, the same as the island of her birth but had just never made the connection. Thankfully, if his father felt that his heir was the stupidest Lannister still living, he did not mention it in front of Brienne. His sweet Brienne, Jaime thought, as her upbringing still made no difference to him. He had completely fallen for the innocent woman with the stunning blue eyes. 

Less than a week after the dinner with Tywin, Jaime sat in his usual place at the bar, under the watchful eye of Lord Selwyn, as he waited for Brienne and touched upon a small box in his coat pocket. He beamed when she joined him, looked into her beautiful eyes, and told her with all certainty that he could not live without her, so she should spare him such agony and horror and marry him. Despite herself, Brienne giggled, but quickly realized that, although the delivery was silly, the proposal was genuine. The gasped to see the small box that bumped her hand below, flipped open to reveal a lovely, sapphire ring. 

Jaime licked his lips hopefully, wishing that for all his words, he had some to do her justice. “It has nothing on your eyes, but it was the best the jeweler could do. Kiss me or curse me, just say yes.”

Brighter than the sapphire, Brienne’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears and something that made Jaime’s heart flutter anew. She laughed as she threw her arms around him. “Yes!”


End file.
